No Extra Punishment for Killers of Pregnant Women

Cheyenne, Wy – The Wyoming Senate voted down a bill to give longer sentences to people convicted of killing pregnant women. Abortion rights groups opposed the bill saying they're concerned about the additional stature an unborn child could have received under Wyoming law. The bill would have automatically added 20 years to a murder conviction if the fetus dies. Senator John Barrasso argued that when a pregnant woman dies there is more then one victim.Barrasso says 32 other states have such a law on the books, but the measure did not receive the support of two thirds of the Senate, needed for a bill to move forward during a budget session.